


Intertwined

by Princeyssash



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Trans Racetrack Higgins, its not a main part of the story but it's still there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24511102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princeyssash/pseuds/Princeyssash
Summary: When you turn 21 you get your soulmarks. Elmer is nervous to get his, but he doesn't have to be.
Relationships: Spot Conlon/Albert DaSilva/Elmer (Newsies)/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Intertwined

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Natasja! I hope you enjoy this one xD
> 
> Also posted to Tumblr, come say hi! @/halfwaytoqueens

Elmer wasn’t scared to go to sleep, he wasn’t. Okay maybe he was a little scared, but it wasn’t his fault! Tomorrow he would turn 21 which meant that he would wake up tomorrow with a symbol on his body that hadn’t been there before. A symbol that tied him to his soulmate.   
Everyone got their Mark on their twenty first birthday, which was tomorrow for Elmer. Your own soulmark is over your heart and the soulmark of your soulmate is somewhere else on your body, it depended on the person where it would show up. If your soulmate was younger than you, you’d have to wait until they came of age for you to know you were soulmates. No one knew for certain why you didn’t get your Mark until your twenty first birthday but it was generally assumed it was so people got the chance to develop their own personality before finding the person you’re destined to be with.   
So yeah, Elmer was a bit scared to go to sleep. Tomorrow he would find out who his soulmate was. He laid in bed, tossing and turning and both waiting for sleep to come and hoping it wouldn’t.   
11.27PM. A little more than thirty minutes before it was midnight, when his Mark would appear. When he would know what it looked like. He wondered if he had met his soulmate already, if he knew who they were. He didn’t know if he’d rather know them or not, he just hoped they would get along. After all, they were destined to be together.   
Realising there was no way he’d fall asleep before midnight, he decided to see if Spot was still awake. Spot had been his closest friend for the past nine years, they’d met in middle school on the first day of the year. Elmer still wondered how they’d become friends. Spot seemed angry at the world and everyone in it, but when they had been paired up for an assignment Elmer had managed to see through the mask Spot put on and Elmer had stuck with him until Spot accepted his friendship. That assignment had been the beginning of their friendship and the origins of their nicknames. Spot’s face was covered in freckles so of course Elmer called him Spot. Elmer may or may not have accidentally let a bottle of Elmer’s Glue explode. 

[11.29PM] Elmer: Spottie, you awake?  
[11.29PM] Elmer: I can’t sleep  
[11.30PM] Spot: yeah i’m awake, what’s up?  
[11.30PM] Elmer: Did it hurt? Getting your Mark?  
[11.30PM] Spot: nah getting my Marks didn’t hurt  
[11.30PM] Spot: tingled a little, sure, but it didn’t hurt  
[11.31PM] Elmer: Wait you have multiple Marks?? Spot wtf why didn’t you tell me?  
[11.31PM] Spot: you don’t think it’s weird? 

Elmer sat staring at his phone when he got Spot’s response, did he think it was weird? No. Polyamorous soulmates were rare, sure, but Elmer thought it was beautiful. Getting to spend the rest of your life sharing your love with more than one person and they were all destined for you? That was amazing. Elmer really didn’t understand why Spot thought he would think it was weird.   
He was pulled out of his train of thought by the sound of his phone, glancing down he saw that it was Spot calling and he answered.   
“Hey Spottie,”  
“Do you think it’s weird? Sorry if I made things weird in our friendship,” Elmer chuckled at that, Spot might seem scary and emotionless but once you get through to him he’s actually a big softie. Not that Elmer would tell him that, they might be best friends but Spot had his limits.   
“No! I don’t think it’s weird at all, polyam soulmates are wonderful. You’re really lucky Spottie.” Elmer laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling while chatting to Spot.   
“Okay good,” Spot sighed, “my parents weren’t thrilled unfortunately. Just wait until I tell them I’m gay, that’ll be a laugh,”  
“I’ve told you before, if you decide to come out to them there’s a bed here for you,” Elmer smiled softly, “there will always be a bed here for you, you know that.”  
“Thanks El,”   
“Of course, Spottie. Not that you’d use that bed seeing as you always fall asleep in mine,” Elmer chuckled. There had been many movie nights where Spot had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, leaning against Elmer with his head on Elmer’s shoulder. After the first time it happened neither had mentioned it the next morning and after that they always slept in the same bed if Spot slept over.   
“Oh shuttup you,” Spot replied, no venom in his tone.   
“Fine, if you distract me from the fact that it’s…” Elmer trailed off to check the time, 11.43PM, “seventeen minutes until midnight and midnight means it’s my twenty first birthday and honestly I’m kinda scared. What if I don’t like them? What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t find them until I’m old and grey and I’m doomed to spend my life alone? What if-”  
“Okay I’m stopping you there, El. I’m sure everything will be fine. You’re amazing, you will find your soulmate and if I know one thing for certain it’s that your soulmate will be nice too. The universe wouldn’t dare pair you of all people with someone unlikable.”  
Elmer smiled, Spot always knew what to say somehow.  
“But I guess I’ll tell you a story to pass the time. Once upon a time…”   
As Spot told his story, Elmer listened to his voice. The hand that wasn’t holding his phone was held up towards the ceiling and Elmer looked at it thoughtfully, would things be different tomorrow? Would he feel different? He wondered about Spot’s soulmarks as well. He’d never seen any soulmarks on Spot, which meant they were all in a place that was usually covered by clothes. No Marks on his arms or face. What would they look like? Elmer shook his head, if Spot wanted to show him his soulmarks then he would.   
Still staring at his hand, he turned it around from his palm to the back of his hand. Which definitely hadn’t been covered in lines when he had looked at it less than a minute ago.   
Elmer gasped as he scrambled off his bed to turn on the light. Looking at the back of his hand again he could now see his soulmark clearly.   
“..mer? El? Are you okay?” Shit. Spot. He was still on the phone with Spot. taking a deep breath, Elmer replied.  
“Yeah, Spottie, I’m fine.” Emer was still staring at the back of his hand, which now had a beautifully detailed Brooklyn Bridge on it. “My mark appeared!”  
“That’s amazing, El! What does it look like?” suddenly panicking, Elmer decided he needed to be alone with his thoughts.   
“You’ll see in the morning okay? I gotta go.” quickly saying goodbye, Elmer hung up the phone.   
Now that he was alone with his thoughts, he wasn’t sure hanging up the phone was the best decision.   
Looking down at the back of his hand again, Elmer confirmed that it was in fact covered by the Brooklyn Bridge. Spot was from Brooklyn originally. Could it be? No, it wouldn’t be. That was too good to be true. Spot had his own soulmates, plural, and Elmer had this Mark on the back of his hand. That was the only one. Right? If they all appeared at the same time it would make sense that he didn’t notice multiple tingles.   
Elmer walked into the bathroom and took off his shirt. There was his own mark, over his heart, two spoons with the backs to each other, the way someone would hold them when playing the spoons. A hobby he himself had taken up on a bored afternoon and enjoyed so much he never stopped. and the Brooklyn Bridge on his hand. Wait, what was the dot on the side of his waist? He turned slightly so he could see the picture on his waist. A cigar with a wisp of smoke coming from it. This mark, too, was very detailed. Elmer could see the swirls in the smoke and read the lettering on the cigar. After staring at the marks for way longer than he intended, Elmer put his shirt back on and went to bed.   
As he laid in bed he considered all the questions that had plagued him all day. His mind was still running a thousand miles per hour when he fell asleep.

The next morning Elmer woke up because someone unceremoniously fell on his bed. With him in it.   
“Good morning Ellie!” Elmer recognised Spot’s voice immediately.  
“Spot what are you doing here? It’s like crazy early in the morning.” Elmer half heartedly shoved at Spot to get off of him.   
“El, it’s 10AM, most people wouldn’t consider that early. Your family is nice and all but it’s your birthday and I wanna know why you hung up on me yesterday.” Spot took pity on Elmer and laid down next to him instead of on top of him. “What’s this? Do I see the edge of a soulmark on your hand? Can I see?”   
Elmer laughed nervously, what if it was Spot’s soulmark? What if it wasn’t Spot’s soulmark? He really hoped it was Spot’s Mark.   
“Yeah, ‘course,” he pulled up his hand until it was hovering in front of both their faces.   
“El,” Spot whispered, “oh my god,”  
Then he was standing next to the bed and Elmer looked at him with surprise, was something wrong? Then he was taking off his shirt.   
“Spot what the fuck are you doing?” Elmer asked his friend, looking away.   
“Just look!” Spot sounded excited and scared at the same time. “El?”  
Elmer looked up at Spot, looked him in the eyes and then looked down at where he knew Spot’s soulmark was. It was the bridge. The same Brooklyn Bridge that was on the back of his hand.   
“It’s you! It’s really you!” Elmer jumped up and hugged Spot, his soulmate. “I hoped it would be! Spottie I love you so much!”   
Elmer felt Spot’s arms around his waist as he hugged him back.   
“I hoped it would be you too. I mean it almost had to be, I can’t think of anyone else as obsessed with spoons as you are.” Spot laughed and pulled away from the hug. He turned so his side was turned to Elmer and showed him the same spoons as Elmer had over his heart on the right side of his waist.   
“Do you…” Spot trailed off, thinking about his next words. “Do you have the cigar too? With the wisp of smoke?”   
Elmer nodded excitedly. They shared their other soulmate as well!   
“Yeah I do!” He pulled up his shirt to show the mark on his waist. Spot traced the smoke with his hand.   
“I wonder who he is? Do you think we know him?” Spot looked at Elmer with curious eyes.  
“I don’t know, honestly… But I know that whether we do know him or don’t, if they’re half as amazing as you I will love them.” Elmer grabbed Spot’s hand and squeezed it gently. 

~~~

Things for Elmer and Spot were amazing. They had moved in together a few weeks after Elmer’s birthday and they were happy. Of course, they knew their relationship was incomplete, they were still waiting for their third soulmate, but they knew they would find each other when the time was right. 

“Spottie, I’m on my way home! I’m also desperately craving a latte and this new coffee shop opened on my route so I’m getting a coffee, do you want anything?” Elmer walked through the door of the new cafe.   
“Black coffee? I have to stay up late tonight to finish my assignment.”   
“One boring black coffee coming right up! I-” Elmer saw the boy behind the counter. He was absolutely gorgeous. The barista had blond hair and a big grin on his face. And- was that? No, it couldn’t be. Then he saw that the barista was looking right back at him. Or more specifically his… hand?   
The barista turned to his colleague and after a hushed conversation he stepped away from the counter and walked right up to Elmer.   
“El? You still there?” Spot’s confusion was clear in his voice.  
“Yeah, yeah. I gotta go, see you at home.” Elmer hung up the phone and put it in his pocket while the stranger was making his way over to where Elmer was standing.  
“Eh, hi?” Elmer tried, smiling nervously at the man now standing in front of him.   
“My name is Racetrack,” Race said, “But everyone calls me Race. Technically my name is Antonio but no one ever calls me that so please don’t call me that. Unless you want me to associate you with my mother.”   
“Hi Race, I’m Elmer. Well, technically Evan but everyone calls me Elmer.”   
“Is that the Brooklyn Bridge on your hand?” Race asked, his tone almost desperate. Elmer showed him the back of his hand, the Brooklyn Bridge clear on it.  
“Yeah, why?”   
“Oh my gosh, you’re spoons?”   
“What?” this was weird, right? Definitely weird. Race seemed to realise this as well as he quickly added, “your soulmark? Two spoons back to back? That is your soulmark, right? It has to be, I’d recognize that bridge anywhere. I know it like the back of my hand.” he giggled, “well, not like you would know the back of your hand. It is, literally, on the back of your hand after all.”  
Elmer laughed. Race was obviously nervous.   
“Relax, relax. Let’s sit down?” Elmer gestured towards an empty table closeby. “Yes, my soulmark is two spoons. You’re the cigar?” Elmer looked at Race expectantly. “Oh Spot is going to be so happy that I found you!”  
“Yeah I’m the cigar!” Race smiled at him. “Is Spot your other soulmate? You have three soulmarks t-”   
“Three?” Elmer frowned, “No, we have two…”  
“What? No, that can’t be.” Race was frowning too, “What do I tell Albert? I’m not leaving him… but if you’re not his soulmates then how does that work?”   
“Albert?” Elmer asked softly.  
“My third soulmate? You’re the spoons, your Spot is the Brooklyn Bridge and Albert is the wisp of smoke…”   
“Wait…” Elmer stood up and pulled his shirt up slightly, revealing the soulmark, soulmarks?, on his waist. Race’s eyes went wide.  
“That’s Al’s Mark! And mine! Wow I’ve never seen two Marks so close together.” Race looked at Elmer again, “does that mean Albert is your soulmate as well?”   
“I think so? Oh my gosh what the fuck.” Elmer grimaced, he didn’t usually swear. “Sorry. Spot and I always assumed it was one Mark. Wow.”   
“I can see why,” Race laughed nervously and grabbed his phone. “I have to call Albert. I have to let him know I found you. Both of you! I never thought I’d find both of you at the same time!”   
Elmer looked at Race closer while the other was waiting for Albert to pick up the phone. Race had very light freckles on his nose which looked absolutely adorable.   
“Al? Oh my god, Al, you have no idea what just happened! I found them!” … “Yeah! Well, no, I’ve only seen one of them, he’s called Elmer and he knows Brooklyn!” … “No I don’t know how I haven’t asked yet, I wanted to call you first!” … “Yes! Now can you come to my work? Elmer wants to meet you and I want to meet Brooklyn!”   
“Spot, he’s called Spot.” Elmer helpfully supplied, still smiling.   
“Spot!” Race said to the phone. “I want to meet Spot!” … “Yes of course, see you soon, babe.”   
Race hung up the phone and looked at Elmer again.  
“Albert’s on his way, are you going to call Spot?”  
“I thought we could head over to our apartment together? It’s only a block from here.” Elmer replied. Then he remembered that he came here for coffee.   
“Actually, while we wait for Albert I’m going to get Spot the coffee I promised him, do you want anything?”   
“Nah, but I’ll queue with you, I’ll get you that sweet sweet employee discount of 20%.” Race smirked and they both stood. 

Coffees acquired, they stood outside the coffee shop waiting for Alber. Elmer was going to pay for the coffee’s but Race’s colleague and boss, as it turned out, insisted they just take them (“Anything for young love, go enjoy your newfound soulmates. I’ll see you back at work tomorrow, Race.”).  
“That was really nice of your boss,” Elmer said as he took a sip of his coffee.  
“Yeah, Darcy is the best,” Race responded and waved at a man across the street. “That’s Albert! Al! Over here!”   
Elmer stood next to Race as Albert crossed the street towards them, smiling. All of a sudden he was nervous. This was his soulmate! What would he think of Elmer? What would he think of Spot? Elmer was sure he wouldn’t like anyone who didn’t like Spot. Gosh he hoped Race and Albert liked Spot.   
“Hi,” Albert said as he approached the two of them, he stuck out his hand for Elmer to shake “I’m Albert.”  
“I’m Elmer,” Elmer replied as he shook Albert’s hand, “technically my name is Evan but everyone calls me Elmer!”   
“Nice to meet ya, Elmer!”   
“Hey babe,” Race kissed Albert’s cheek and handed him the cup of coffee. “Elmer suggested we go to his and Spot’s apartment cus it’s nearby and it’s a bit more private than a cafe.”   
Albert nodded his agreement and Race smiled.  
“Lead the way, Elmer!” 

The walk to his and Spot’s apartment was filled with easy conversation. Elmer was surprised how easy it was to talk to Albert and Race, but then again they were soulmates, maybe it had something to do with that.   
As Elmer unlocked the door he called out for Spot.  
“Spot? I brought you something! I think you’ll like it!”  
“Is it the coffee you promised me before you so rudely hung up on me without explanation?” Spot walked out of the spare room-slash-office rubbing a hand over his face. “Because yes I do like that and I need it to stay alive.”  
“Nope! Well, yes that too,” Elmer grinned, unable to keep his amusement from his voice, “I also brought some people I think you might want to meet. Seeing as they’re our soulmates after all.”  
That stopped Spot right in his tracks.   
“Soulmates? As in plural? More than one?”   
“Yeah!” Elmer gestured to Race and Albert, who had matching smirks on their faces and waved.   
“Hi I’m Racetrack! Call me Race,” he walked over to Spot and hugged him, a hug Elmer was surprised to see Spot return.   
“I’m Albert,” Albert walked up to Spot as well, a bit calmer than Race, and stuck out his hand for Spot to shake just like he had for Elmer.   
“I’m Sean.” Spot said and grimaced, “don’t tell anyone that name. My name’s Spot and that’s all I ever want to hear people say.”   
Spot walked over to the couch to sit down, stopping halfway to accept his coffee from Elmer and give him a quick kiss.   
“Now someone please explain how I have two more soulmates instead of one like both Elmer and I thought.”   
Race and Albert shared one look and then both took off their shirts. Elmer’s mouth fell open. On Albert’s chest he saw the detailed as ever wisp of smoke and on Race’s chest, above two thin scars on either side of his chest, was the cigar that Elmer had become so familiar with in the past couple of months.   
“Wow,” Spot whispered, “so you’re both our soulmates? Mine and Elmer’s? And each other’s?”   
Race and Albert nodded and Spot looked at Elmer. He looked truly happy, Elmer noticed, thank goodness.   
“I guess we were wrong, weren’t we, Spottie?” Elmer chuckled as he sat down next to Spot on the couch. Spot only nodded.   
“Cuddle pile!” Elmer had about half a second to see it was Race who had spoken, before he felt a weight on top of him. Race had pulled Albert along and they were now piled on top of the other two on the small couch.   
“I’m sorry about Race,” Albert said, pulling himself away slightly to sit down on the couch next to Spot instead of on him.   
“Don’t worry, it’s about time Spot feels what it’s like to all of a sudden have the weight of another person on top of you,”   
“Hey!” Spot at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed.   
“I like you already,” Race murmured.   
“I like you too, now I won’t have to bug El on my own,” Spot said, sticking out his tongue at Elmer’s affronted look.  
“Go bug each other or something,” Elmer replied. Spot and Race looked at each other and seemed to come to a conclusion, Elmer breached himself and he felt Spot weight on top of him not a second later. He laughed and pushed both Race and Spot off of him and they landed on the rug on the floor, both laughing.   
Elmer looked at his two soulmates on the floor and his soulmate sat next to him on the couch and he held out his hand for Albert to hold. They would work well together, he thought as Albert took his hand. Yeah, they would be okay.


End file.
